Recommended Summer Solstice Readings from Hippo

Happy summer solstice, Hippo readers! What better way to celebrate our slide into the sticky days of midsummer by cracking open a new book? Here’s what our staff and contributors are currently reading—and where they recommend reading it:

1.

What I’m reading: Because my daughter and I are traveling to Denmark next month, I am reading The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell.Where I’d like to read it: The ideal way to read this light memoir about living as an expatriate in the “world’s happiest country” would be while planning the trip and eating a famous Danish pastry. However, I will likely finish it on the plane on the way over!—Diane Prince, Head of U.S. Sales

2.

What I’m reading: I’m about to go camping in Oregon tomorrow and am bringing two books with me: fellow Ig Publishing author Warren Read’s gorgeous new novel, Ash Falls, and I’m also hoping to finish one of my favorite books I’ve read this decade, Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer.Where I’d like to read it: I’ll be reading them on a camp chair at the lake, hopefully with a plastic cup of pinot noir in hand, a campfire roasting s’mores, and my daughter asleep in the tent.—Kaitlin Solimine, co-founder

3.

What I’m reading: I recently got Working with Wood by the editors of Time-Life Books…Where I’d like to read it: …and the ideal way to read it is while in the garage!—Daniel Lin, Head of Operations

4.

What I’m reading: When I do get a chance to read for enjoyment, I am working on Crazy Rich Asians, Lean In, and recently finished Strangers in Their Own Land which I highly recommend!Where I’d like to read it: By the pool at a villa in Bali!—Richelle South, Content Strategist—APAC

5.

What I’m reading: I’ve been reading the big ones this summer: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I also just started My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.Where I’d like to read it: If I try reading when it’s dark I will fall asleep immediately, so my favorite time to read is late afternoon, on a porch, with some sort of view. A latte I can reach without moving is also nice. I would say a glass of wine I can reach without moving is also nice, but since my kid was born, this tends to take me back to the falling asleep part.—Caroline Casper, Content Strategist

6.

What I’m reading: A biography of Virginia Woolf’s artist sister, Vanessa Bell by Frances Spalding. She had a gift for the “handling of life” and managed to balance a husband, lover, and ex-lover all at the same time while still painting beautifully.Where I’d like to read it: In the morning, with iced coffee, on a patio somewhere.—Tori Telfer, Editor in Chief

7.

What I’m reading: Candide: Or, Optimism by Voltaire. Long before there was South Park, there was Candide. Candide is as laugh-out-loud funny today as it was when it came out over 200 years ago, and its precise skewering of the hypocrisy of government, organized religion, and academics is just as relevant.Where I’d like to read it: While “tending one’s garden.”—Prof. Bryan Van Norden, Professor of Philosophy, Vassar College, and frequent contributor to Hippo Reads